Lawmakers urge no halt to ag inspections

Friday

Mar 1, 2013 at 12:01 AM

SAN ANDREAS - Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton, and other members of Congress on Thursday sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asking for Vilsack to continue key plant and animal inspections in the event automatic budget cuts take place today.

The Record

SAN ANDREAS - Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Stockton, and other members of Congress on Thursday sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asking for Vilsack to continue key plant and animal inspections in the event automatic budget cuts take place today.

McNerney argues in his letter that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service offers a key protection to farmers, and that it would be much less expensive to prevent pest or disease infestations than for farmers to endure quarantines after an infestation.

"Last year alone, farmers in our area endured millions of dollars in losses due to federal quarantines," McNerney said in a written statement released to media.

In the letter to Vilsack, McNerney wrote "We recognize that difficult budgetary decisions must be made and that sequestration places great strain on your department. However, we can save more money by preventing invasive pests and diseases rather than attempting to manage the problem after it's too late."

An Oriental fruit fly quarantine last year in the Stockton area cost farmers an estimated $1 million, according to San Joaquin County Agricultural Commissioner Scott Hudson.

European grapevine moth and light brown apple moth infestations have also triggered quarantines that affected San Joaquin County in recent years.

"We have some of the most productive farmers in the country right here in our community," McNerney wrote. "We must protect their livelihoods, both for the sake of our local economy, and the country.